rubbish heap two

Real talk - aside from all the hipster/douchebag baggage attached, fixed gears ain't all bad. They make fine commuters (less parts, less maintenance) and the lack of gears really doesn't matter if you actually ride your bike to get your heart rate up/legs burning a bit. Just gear sensibly for however flat/hilly your city is and throw a brake on if you really feel like you can't stop going downhill or prefer not to ride like an asshole (personally I love it and hate things like safety and weight, so no brakes for me). Hell, now that my road bike's history I'm doing all my training on track bikes to get ready for CX until my cross bike is back in proper condition. But don't get any illusions - throwing lots of money into your city track bike is strictly a fashion statement unless you actually race. I'm not going to pretend I never did it, because I did and it was lots of fun, but having a stable of bikes (with gears) is 1000000x better than having one really nice track bike that you're afraid to lock up without losing a wheel.

Stolen in PDX: If you see anything resembling this, shoot me a PM.

Hammer is pretty much all marketing IMO. I personally don't really like their gels (PowerBar and Gu taste better/go down easier), and most of their supplements/protein/recovery stuff can be had by other companies for cheaper/better stuff. With that said, if you like the taste of some of their stuff (HEED comes to mind), go for it, but keep in mind you're paying a premium and there's really nothing that separates them from any other supplement/protein powder company. In general, supplementing with antioxidants is inferior to getting them via diet. What exactly are you looking for / trying to do? You were buying some serious bulk on Trueprotein.com for awhile, no? Joker, where you getting the Enrvit from?

damn. tires and tubes? that's just desperate.

So how bout that Tour stage today. Contador's dope apparently isn't working too well this year. Pantani, in '98, climbed the same pass three minutes faster than today's race leaders.

sounds like you got tight hamstrings. try stretching them out after rides. hydration goes a long way and it's not just about water or bananas. electrolyte replacement during a ride is key: get fizzing tablets (nuun, hammer and gu all make some), or drink coconut water (add dash of salt and it's a potent sports drink). diet before/after riding also goes a long way, i've found. my cramps have gone way down after i started eating more vegetables every day. you can also try supplementing with magnesium (a deficiency can cause leg cramps), and most people are deficient in that anyway from what i understand. sometimes when it's really hot, you can't really avoid the cramps, just do things to delay the suffering. when it's above 95 under high humidity, all bets are off unless you grew up in that shit or spent the last few months riding in it.

Eww @ that Trek. Chocula - the RR was ~8,000ft. of climbing and 73 miles. Being a fat boy crit/track/cross guy, I made it about 42 miles in and 4,000ft. of climbing before pulling it with some cramps. 11-23 cassette was a mistake. Probably could have prolonged the misery with a 27t, but I wanted to save some for the crit. The crit was the biggest field I've ever raced in. 150 riders, 28mph average, 75 minutes, 50 ft of gain/loss per lap. I felt great with 3 laps to go but promptly got bounced around like a pinball with guys simultaneously bumping into me on both sides and as a result had my aggression and testosterone go out the window at the end of the race in favor of just staying upright. Rolled through the line with my teammates in about the top 3rd of the pack; for the fact that the guys winning are mostly pros or on developmental squads, we held our own decently. At this point I'm just trying to get my cat 2 upgrade before burning out for the summer and than gearing up for CX in the fall. Getting close... I'm a win away from upgrading :D

Got a slow leak on my Evo Corsa in Saturday's road race (1 mile gravel section so no surprise there). Fortunately it happened while warming up... so I just swapped for a neutral wheel and raced as usual. Either way, Vittoria's Evo Corsa CX is one of the most buttery smooth tires ever but they get cuts like emo kids... Collegiate National Championships are this week! Wish me luck. Flying to Madison to race the biggest road race and crit of my life. 72 miles with 8000 ft. of elevation gain in the RR, 75 minutes in the crit.

Choc - trails off Redwood? Missing the cross bike off road shit right about now...

2nd place in the men's A road race on a 50 mile. Me and another guy broke away @ mile 10 and rode together for the next 50 miles, fending off a couple groups of chasers in the process. Deadliest cross winds I've ever ridden. All I can say is I can't wait for track and cross...

Word. You still got that handsome BMC? I'll get in contact with you as arrival date nears.

SF folks - coming to the Bay in a couple weeks. Who's down for some road riding?

Snag the Bianchi, ditch the wheel/pedal reflectors, take off the pie plate on the rear wheel and you got yourself a very respectable steel road bike.

Have you ever tried L-Glutamine? That seems to be keeping my immune system way up right now. I don't think I could put in a 20 hour training week without it.

Pulled 9th place out of a super chaotic field sprint in yesterday's race. Not that the actual field was chaotic, but there was cars sprawled all across the road coming into the finish (just regular dudes driving by who got marshaled to pull over) and a fucking neutralized women's field right at the finish line.

Slipped on a mix of gravel and ice Friday while out on a road ride and tore a quarter-sized chunk out of my chin from sliding my face in gravel and concrete. Ouch. Took the doctor 30 minutes to dig out with tweezers all the little chunks of rock embedded in my face. Also got a grapefruit-sized swelling on my hip. Bike is mostly cool save for a scuffed saddle and derailleur hanger that had to be replaced. Good thing the races were cancelled this weekend due to snow and ice... Fuckin' winter, when does it end?

Joker, come race Sublimity this weekend...

Too much wattage?

Coach - "Are you okay? Does your head hurt? You have a giant fucking stake in your leg. Can you get back on the bike and cross the line?"

Joker, didn't race yesterday but I'll be out there for Sublimity this weekend. I was in Portland with other plans and just did a ride on Skyline instead. Also wasn't really feeling the race/crash on the uphill finish last year so I didn't want to take chances this year with the cast coming off my recently healed up hand so soon. My teammate turned a few heads winning the 1/2 race though... gotta give him a shout out on that.

Snowed on my ride this morning - going gloveless was a bad choice.

Pick the lesser of two evils - riding indoors bored or outdoors fighting the elements. Personally if the wind is killer I'll take the indoors, but rain per se ain't too bad.

fuck yes.

Shit, we got insanely lucky out in OR... it's been spring weather lately. Normally at this time of the year I'd be bitching about how I have to clean my rim sidewalls and drivetrain after every ride but it's been bone dry and warm here. A good refreshment from last year when the rain never stopped. With that said... ride a mountain bike when it's snowy out :D

86 mile ride with a "measly" 1500 ft. of climbing for me (hey, it's Oregon haha). Drinking the night before wasn't the best idea but fuck it. In for another 5 hour ride tomorrow. Trying to get that fabled 20 hour training week in this week and then rest hard afterwards. Joker, you doing Cherry Pie, Sublimity and Banana Belt?